How to Protect Yourself against WannaCry Ransomware?

In this post, we will tell what WannaCry ransomware is and how to protect yourself from ransomware.

What Is WannaCry?

First and foremost, let’s clarify exactly what WannaCry is. In short, this malware is a scary type of trojan virus called “ransomware”. As the name suggests, such a virus holds the infected computer hostage and demands that the victim pays a sum of ransom to regain access to the files on his computer.

If a computer is attacked by WannaCry, the desktop background will be changed and nearly all file types (such as .7z, .avi, .csv, .doc, .docx, .dot, .gif, .iso, .java. .jpeg, .jpg, .mkv, .mov, .mp3, .mp4, .pdf, .png, .ppt, .rar, .txt, .wav, .xlsx, .zip, etc.) will be encrypted until the user send $300 in bitcoins to the appointed address.

If the user does not send the ransom within 3 days, the amount doubles to $600, and the user will lose the chance to decrypt his files after 7 days without payment. In a word, only through ransom can the victims have the possibility of decrypting their files (reputedly it is hard for the hackers to distinguish who paid the ransom).

According to a report, more than 300,000 systems around the world are believed to have been infected. Undoubtedly WannaCry is the most severe malware attack so far in 2017, and the spread of this troubling ransomware is at an alarming rate.

You may like:

• Different Types of Ransomware & How to Protect Your Computer
• How to Perform Ransomware Recovery and How to Protect Your Data

Got an Infection Already?

If you find that your system gets infected by ransomware, and no backup is available (you have no backup, so you google), what should you do? Pay the ransom? Absolutely NOT! A solution that deserves trying is to recover the lost data.

This can be supported by the way ransomware encrypts computer files. Usually, ransomware directly encrypts the files OR first makes a copy, then encrypt the copy, and deletes the original files finally. There are two tools for you MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free Edition and MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition – the most effective solution for most data loss situations – to scan for deleted files.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery is the professional data recovery software for Windows users. You can use it to recover any deleted/lost files under various data loss situations. Supported devices include Windows computer, external drive like HDD, SSD, USB, SD card, memory card, and more. 

MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

MiniTool Partition Wizard provides you with a reliable and quick data recovery solution to recover the original data which is deleted by the ransomware. Although we do not know how WannaCry ransomware encrypted files, it’s not bad to try on this software.

MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

For more details, refer to this post – Full Solutions to Do Hard Drive Recovery via MiniTool.

How to Protect Yourself from Virus WannaCry

If your computer is currently running normally, how to stay safe from WannaCry ransomware? Generally speaking, you need to do the following things:

• Never click on a link that you do not trust.
• Be aware of a fake website that uses names similar to popular services.
• Use antivirus and always make them have the last update.
• Make sure your Windows has the last update.
• Disable file-sharing support. (Enter Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features. Then uncheck SMB1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support. Finally, restart your computer.)
• Keep your files backed up regularly(most significantly)

Among the several suggestions, regularly backing up the system and important files is always the best one. Once a computer is attacked by ransomware, cut off internet access and install the patch MS17-010, then restore the system and files.

How to Back up the System

Special Recommendation: MiniTool ShadowMaker

MiniTool ShadowMaker – a brand new yet professional backup software, is designed to help users protect systems and important files, which can rescue ransomware attacks like WannaCry. It can deal with all backup tasks including file backup, system backup, disk/partition backup, etc. Besides, it enables you to schedule backup tasks so that you can set up when you need a backup and then put it aside to do the job. What’s more, this free backup software works with Windows 7/8/10/11.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 1. Run MiniTool ShadowMaker and click Keep Trial to continue.

Step 2. Now navigate to the Backup tab to select the source partitions and the destination location. Note that the system-required partitions are selected by default, so you only need to choose the destination path (an external hard drive location is preferred).

Step 3. Finally, select when to start the backup – Back Up Now or Back Up Later. Both of them will lead you to the Manage tab, where you can view the backup progress or start the delayed backup task at any time you like.

You may need to know How to Restore the System Using MiniTool ShadowMaker?

Traditional Solution: Windows Back up and Restore

In fact, Windows offers a feature to do backup, and it is called Backup and Restore. To access this feature, you need to enter Control Panel to select Back up and Restore (Windows 7).

Next, we will show you how to use this utility to protect yourself from ransomware.

Before backup, you may carry out an antivirus program to ensure the system is green. After that quit all programs and close all the windows to reduce backup errors and improve the backup efficiency.

Part 1 – Back up and Restore Windows

Step 1. At Backup and Restore (Windows 7), select Create a system image from the left menu to activate system backup.

Step 2. Windows will ask where do you want to save the backup. See you can choose a hard disk (better to back up to an external hard drive), a DVD drive, or a network location as the target location. After the selection, click Next to go on.

Step 3. Here you need to choose which drives to be included in the backup. You can see that the system-related partitions are checked by default and you can also add some other partitions. Then click Next to continue.

Step 4. Finally, you need to confirm the backup settings before clicking the Start backup button. Then Windows will create a system image quickly.

Then How to Restore Windows from a System Image?

Step 1. At the Start menu, hold down the “Shift” key on your keyboard and click the “Restart” option.

Step 2. Your computer will boot to the special recovery menu. There you need to click “Troubleshoot“, “Advanced Options“, and then “System Image Recovery“.

Step 3. Then you need to choose an account and enter the password if it has to continue.

Step 4. Now you see the re-image interface, where you can choose a system image version and choose additional restore options.

Step 5. Finally, you can preview what will happen. Click Finish to start the restoration if you agree. Note that all data on the target location will be replaced with the data in the system image.

In this way, you have finished a system restoration using the Windows tool, and protect yourself from ransomware.

Part 2 – Back up and Restore Files

Step 1. Enter “Back up and Restore“.

Step 2. If this is the first time you back up files, click “Set up back-up” to begin.

Step 3. Windows will ask you to choose a location to save your backup. The location can be another partition on the same drive, an external hard drive (Recommended), DVD drive, or even a network. Then click “Next” to go on the setting.

Step 4. Now choose what content you would like to back up. If you select “Let Windows choose“, then files saved in Libraries, on the desktop, in default Windows folders will be backed up and an image of the operating system will be created. You can also determine what to back up by ticking “Let me choose”. Click “Next” to continue.

Step 5. Now you can review your backup settings, including the backup content, backup location, as well as backup schedule. Please note that you can change the backup schedule according to your preference.

Then How Can You Carry out the Restore?

Step 1. At the same location, choose “Restore my files“.

Step 2. Browse files or folders to select a backup. In our example, we select “Browse for folders“.

See in the location where we just created a backup, there are folders of which the attributes are “Backup“. Then select the wanted image file and click “Add folder” to show it the list box. You can also choose a single file backup to restore.

Step 3. In the display box, you just tick the files/folders you have selected and click “Next“.

Step 4. Here you should choose where do you want to restore files: in the original location or select another location by yourself. In our case, we choose the former one. Then click “Restore” button.

Step 5. After a while, the restoration will be finished.

Bottom Line

Reading here, we guess you must have a basic understanding of what WannaCry ransomware is, how to get files deleted by WannaCry ransomware, and how to protect yourself from ransomware.

In the daily use of computers, we hope you can make full use of Windows Back up and Restore utility, and be more careful to prevent your computer from being infected by any ransomware. But if bad things happen, keep calm, for you have the latest backup image to ensure a healthy computer.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave us comments below or contact [email protected].